Indiana Grand opens with focus on higher-quality races

News that a racetrack has cut purses comes like a dark cloud moving in front of the sun. But, counter-intuitively, adjustments to the purse structure at Indiana Grand for its annual marathon racing season that begins Tuesday actually signify the relatively robust health of the racing product there.

Director of Racing Kevin Greely said that Indiana Grand has trimmed maiden-race purses by $1,000 and some allowance races by $1,500 compared to its 2016 racing season. The alteration was required because Indiana Grand carded such an abundance of races in those categories during its 2016 meet. Average daily overnight purses are forecast to be the same as the last two years, a robust $220,000 per day.

“Last year we spent a lot of money on races that hadn’t filled in the past here,” Greely said. “We had to restructure to where we accommodate that and make the money balance out. The quality was excellent last year.”

It’s true. Particularly during the first half of the racing season, Indiana Grand carded a startling number of maiden special weight and allowance races, and the first two cards this season look much the same. Among the eight Thoroughbred races Tuesday are six straight maiden and allowance races; the ratio is the same on Wednesday’s card.

Three of those races both days are for open competition, and three are restricted to Indiana-breds. Indiana Grand’s rise the last several years has gone hand in hand with a surging breeding program in the state: There are more Indiana-breds now than ever before, and the quality of the stock has risen exponentially the last half-decade.

“It’s been fantastic, and that’s what Indiana Grand has been all about - developing the industry,” Greely said.

Tuesday’s is the first of 120 cards during a season that runs through Oct. 29. Race weeks most of the season are four days: Afternoon programs (first post 2:05 Eastern) Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and evening cards (first post 6:05) on Saturdays. During July and August the race week expands to five days with the addition of Thursday afternoon races. Nearly all the programs end with at least one Quarter Horse race, and a handful of cards are devoted entirely to Quarter Horses.

Indiana Grand ran 176 grass races (averaging a healthy 9.03 starters) during last year’s meet, but the grass course doesn’t see action until the latter part of May. Overall, races at the 2016 meet drew an average of 8.33 starters, down slightly from 2015. The product last year was especially appealing for bettors unused to so many higher-level races, but dropped off during July when the race week expanded and Ellis Park, a primary source of competition, began its meeting.

“The schedule worked for us, though, when you look at the handle,” Greely said. “It drops off after Labor Day, and we wanted to provide another day of racing during the stronger time.”

The Indiana Derby and Indiana Oaks card is scheduled for Saturday, July 15 this season. The track has a super-rich Indiana-bred and sired stakes program throughout the meet, and also has a strong open 3-year-old and 3-year-old filly turf series.

All the highest-producing trainers from 2016 are back, and the Brad Cox barn, which came late last season, will have a presence from the start this year, Greely said. DeShawn Parker and Jose Riquelme are among new additions to the jockey colony.

The track has installed a new safety rail since the end of the 2016 meeting. The track surface nearest the rail was a no-go zone for the first couple months during the 2015 meet, during which time winner after winner swooped home on the far outside, but early last year saw a less-biased dirt track. As the meet wears on and the weather warms, inside speed can be dominant on dirt. Favorites won at a 37-percent clip during 2016 – and it’s a good bet horseplayers tuning into Indiana Grand for the first time will be pleasantly surprised with what they find.